CVE-2024-36892

MEDIUM
Published May 30, 2024 Modified Sep 18, 2025 CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/slub: avoid zeroing outside-object freepointer for single free Commit 284f17ac13fe ("mm/slub: handle bulk and single object freeing separately") splits single and bulk object freeing in two functions slab_free() and slab_free_bulk() which leads slab_free() to call slab_free_hook() directly instead of slab_free_freelist_hook(). If `init_on_free` is set, slab_free_hook() zeroes the object. Afterward, if `slub_debug=F` and `CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED` are set, the do_slab_free() slowpath executes freelist consistency checks and try to decode a zeroed freepointer which leads to a "Freepointer corrupt" detection in check_object(). During bulk free, slab_free_freelist_hook() isn't affected as it always sets it objects freepointer using set_freepointer() to maintain its reconstructed freelist after `init_on_free`. For single free, object's freepointer thus needs to be avoided when stored outside the object if `init_on_free` is set. The freepointer left as is, check_object() may later detect an invalid pointer value due to objects overflow. To reproduce, set `slub_debug=FU init_on_free=1 log_level=7` on the command line of a kernel build with `CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED=y`. dmesg sample log: [ 10.708715] ============================================================================= [ 10.710323] BUG kmalloc-rnd-05-32 (Tainted: G B T ): Freepointer corrupt [ 10.712695] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ 10.712695] [ 10.712695] Slab 0xffffd8bdc400d580 objects=32 used=4 fp=0xffff9d9a80356f80 flags=0x200000000000a00(workingset|slab|node=0|zone=2) [ 10.716698] Object 0xffff9d9a80356600 @offset=1536 fp=0x7ee4f480ce0ecd7c [ 10.716698] [ 10.716698] Bytes b4 ffff9d9a803565f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.720703] Object ffff9d9a80356600: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.720703] Object ffff9d9a80356610: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.724696] Padding ffff9d9a8035666c: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.724696] Padding ffff9d9a8035667c: 00 00 00 00 .... [ 10.724696] FIX kmalloc-rnd-05-32: Object at 0xffff9d9a80356600 not freed

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor Product
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-36892? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/slub: avoid zeroing outside-object freepointer for single free Commit 284f17ac13fe ("mm/slub: handle bulk and single object freeing separately") splits single and bulk object freeing in two functions slab_free() and slab_free_bulk() which leads slab_free() to call slab_free_hook() directly instead of slab_free_freelist_hook(). If `init_on_free` is set, slab_free_hook() zeroes the object. Afterward, if `slub_debug=F` and `CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED` are set, the do_slab_free() slowpath executes freelist consistency checks and try to decode a zeroed freepointer which leads to a "Freepointer corrupt" detection in check_object(). During bulk free, slab_free_freelist_hook() isn't affected as it always sets it objects freepointer using set_freepointer() to maintain its reconstructed freelist after `init_on_free`. For single free, object's freepointer thus needs to be avoided when stored outside the object if `init_on_free` is set. The freepointer left as is, check_object() may later detect an invalid pointer value due to objects overflow. To reproduce, set `slub_debug=FU init_on_free=1 log_level=7` on the command line of a kernel build with `CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED=y`. dmesg sample log: [ 10.708715] ============================================================================= [ 10.710323] BUG kmalloc-rnd-05-32 (Tainted: G B T ): Freepointer corrupt [ 10.712695] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ 10.712695] [ 10.712695] Slab 0xffffd8bdc400d580 objects=32 used=4 fp=0xffff9d9a80356f80 flags=0x200000000000a00(workingset|slab|node=0|zone=2) [ 10.716698] Object 0xffff9d9a80356600 @offset=1536 fp=0x7ee4f480ce0ecd7c [ 10.716698] [ 10.716698] Bytes b4 ffff9d9a803565f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.720703] Object ffff9d9a80356600: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.720703] Object ffff9d9a80356610: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.724696] Padding ffff9d9a8035666c: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [ 10.724696] Padding ffff9d9a8035667c: 00 00 00 00 .... [ 10.724696] FIX kmalloc-rnd-05-32: Object at 0xffff9d9a80356600 not freed It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2024-36892? +
CVE-2024-36892 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.
What products are affected by CVE-2024-36892? +
CVE-2024-36892 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-36892? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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